Released in 1992 this players guide from Nintendo came out right as the Game Boy was taking off and had a decent library of games. It was published by Nintendo of Europe, Nintendo Power in America released a similar guide for the Game Boy in 1991 but with different games. Coming in at nearly 150 pages it covers twenty six games under six categories - The Incredible Worlds of Mario (which you can see above) - Sports - Motor Mania - Comic Book Heroes - Movie Heroes - and Classics. Why Duck Tales are in Movie Heroes and Bugs Bunny is in Comic Book Heroes, I guess we'll never know?
The guide for each game gives plenty of clear screenshots and often will put multiple screens together to make a handy map for you to follow. There are lots of little illustrations on the pages, the Japanese illustrators would mostly go on to draw guides to pokemon games, which I'm sure gave them a bit more freedom than drawing little F1 cars and 18 holes of a golf course! Here you see Duck Tales, Ghostbusters 2 and Nintendo World Cup. All are scaled down versions of their NES cousins. Nintendo World Cup on the NES is still one of my favourite games.
R-Type got conversion to the Game Boy and this guide shows you how to beat its six levels before warning you that you will have to play the levels over again only this time much tougher. The Bydo Empire still LIVES! The Turtles Fall of the Foot Clan guide takes you up to stage 4-1, but there is still three more levels and bosses to go after that, maybe they thought no one would get there? WWF Superstars is covered in the Sports section of the guide, because back then it was real! There are only five superstars to choose from (two of which have now passed away) but they all pretty much have the same moves. You really need to invest in a link cable to get the most out of this one.
Here are some pics from the guide for Golf. Along with the neat little picture of the layout of each hole you get some advice on which club to use and where. It's like having your own little caddie.
Batman was one of my favourite games on the Game Boy back then, part platformer part shoot'em'up. The guide here dedicates eight pages to showing you how to gain victory, as you can see from the yellow box. I guess the editor preferred this game over the Turtles.
At the back of the book they give the lowdown on some other games you can pick up for your Game Boy. I played the Terminator 2 game a lot too.
Here are some more games, along with these there are guides to Gremlins 2, Tennis, The Chessmaster and lots of others. Apologies (again) for the bad quality pics, I was going to scan the pages but the guide has one rigid spine on it and I just went ahead and used my camera. When I have more time I'll scan them all up properly. Although I've promised that now a few times, I guess I better get my act together! If there is any particular game our page you want scanned, then just let me know.
At the very back of the guide there are two page spreads showing Nintendos home consoles. This being around the time of the death of the NES and the dawning of the SNES. There is also advertisements for other products, who wouldn't want a hip pouch for their Game Boy? and this, the Nintendo Entertainment System Players Guide. Unfortunately I don't have a copy of this guide, nor have I seen much about it on the internet either. Have you got a copy?
The guide for each game gives plenty of clear screenshots and often will put multiple screens together to make a handy map for you to follow. There are lots of little illustrations on the pages, the Japanese illustrators would mostly go on to draw guides to pokemon games, which I'm sure gave them a bit more freedom than drawing little F1 cars and 18 holes of a golf course! Here you see Duck Tales, Ghostbusters 2 and Nintendo World Cup. All are scaled down versions of their NES cousins. Nintendo World Cup on the NES is still one of my favourite games.
R-Type got conversion to the Game Boy and this guide shows you how to beat its six levels before warning you that you will have to play the levels over again only this time much tougher. The Bydo Empire still LIVES! The Turtles Fall of the Foot Clan guide takes you up to stage 4-1, but there is still three more levels and bosses to go after that, maybe they thought no one would get there? WWF Superstars is covered in the Sports section of the guide, because back then it was real! There are only five superstars to choose from (two of which have now passed away) but they all pretty much have the same moves. You really need to invest in a link cable to get the most out of this one.
Here are some pics from the guide for Golf. Along with the neat little picture of the layout of each hole you get some advice on which club to use and where. It's like having your own little caddie.
Batman was one of my favourite games on the Game Boy back then, part platformer part shoot'em'up. The guide here dedicates eight pages to showing you how to gain victory, as you can see from the yellow box. I guess the editor preferred this game over the Turtles.
At the back of the book they give the lowdown on some other games you can pick up for your Game Boy. I played the Terminator 2 game a lot too.
Here are some more games, along with these there are guides to Gremlins 2, Tennis, The Chessmaster and lots of others. Apologies (again) for the bad quality pics, I was going to scan the pages but the guide has one rigid spine on it and I just went ahead and used my camera. When I have more time I'll scan them all up properly. Although I've promised that now a few times, I guess I better get my act together! If there is any particular game our page you want scanned, then just let me know.
I know this is a long shot, but has anyone managed to track down a copy of this guide? There are a lot of the USA version being sold online and it has also been scanned and shared. But this UK version from 1992 seems to have disappeared completely. These photos are all that remains it seems. If anyone out there has a copy, please scan it and share online. I hate to see something like this disappear entirely. Especially considering it is the definitive version of this guide, having been revised significantly from the 1991 US version.
ReplyDeleteThanks for at least providing these photos. Where did you get them, by the way?
You know i didnt think it was that rare, i'm sure i've seen one or two copies on ebay over the years. This guidebook is now packed away in another country, so unfortunately i cant go back and scan the pages like i promised!
DeleteThanks for replying, G. That's a pity you don't have access to it. I've kept an eye out for a copy on eBay for a few years now. Perhaps I've just been unlucky. I see many of the USA version, and both that and the German version have been scanned and preserved digitally by others.
DeletePerhaps in future you'll get the opportunity to do the same for this version. But if not, the images you posted here are greatly appreciated. It's a nice piece of nostalgia. Thanks!
Hi I have a copy
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DeleteI literally only found one in my attic
DeleteMe again! Within a few minutes of typing the above message, I've just discovered that some wonderful human being has recently uploaded the German language version of this guide. Now if only we could find the UK english language version! The link for the German version is below. It seems to be missing some of the content from the UK version, such as the SNES stuff towards the back.
ReplyDeletehttps://archive.org/details/gameboyspieleberater/mode/2up
Hi G. Me again. I just realised you're a fellow Irishman. I'm from Cork. Long shot - I was just wondering if there was any possibility of arranging to have the gameboy guide posted to me temporarily so I can scan it, assuming it is in storage here in Ireland? There's a website community called oldgamemags.com that digitally preserve old game related books and magazines that would otherwise be lost forever. I'd love to add this book to the preservation list. I'd happily cover all costs etc. and return post after carefully scanning.
ReplyDeleteI remember getting my copy of this guide in the 90's for 50p from Smyth's! I have no idea where it ended up, but I suspect it was dumped by my parent many years ago. If you're ever interested in having it preserved, I'd happily scan it and share the digital copy as well as cover the costs of doing so.
No worries if it's too much hassle. I just happen to have a bit of time on my hands with everything that is going on.
Hi all I have just found this exact guide in my attic
ReplyDeleteIf anyone needs a copy give me a shout
DeleteHi Scott. Is it the UK/Ireland version? The red Nintendo logo on the cover should be on a white background if it is. Have you any way of scanning it so it can be preserved on a site like oldgamemags.com ?
DeleteHi yeah it is the UK/Ireland one . From Dublin myself. I could take pics and submit but have no way of scanning
DeleteCool. I'm from Cork City. I have a flatbed scanner, so potentially I could scan it (carefully) and return the original to you if you were interested? You'd then have a digital copy as well. The US version of this guide was preserved (scanned) years ago. It would be nice to add the Irish/UK version to that as it was the superior version.
DeleteLet me know what you think and I we can discuss further through email if you prefer. Obviously I'd cover all postage & packaging expenses both ways. It makes things a lot easier and cheaper that we are on the same small island!
Thanks Scott. And no worries if it's too much hassle at the moment with all that's going on. Especially for you guys in Dublin.
Yeah drop me a mail I got no issue if you want to scan it pal. scottjof@gmail.com is my email
ReplyDelete